Click here for a list of funded projects for the October 2009 round of ESCF.

Round two of the 2009/2010 Early Stage Commercialization Fund is closed for submissions. Shorlisted applicants will be notified in March, 2010.

Note: In this round of the Early Stage Commercialization Fund, we have additional funding available for medical technologies.

Early Stage Commercialization Fund – Medical Technologies
In round two of the Early Stage Commercialization Fund, Innovacorp, in partnership with the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA), BioNova and the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC-IRAP), is offering additional funding specifically for the commercialization support of medical technologies. Medical technologies include medical devices, imaging and diagnostics, but do not include other health-related work such as drugs or vaccines.

Eligibility
Nova Scotia university and community college faculty members engaged in medical technology activities are eligible to apply. Note that staff within university affiliated hospitals (eg. the Capital District Health Authority and the IWK Health Centre) are eligible to apply.

Does your research have market potential?

The Early Stage Commercialization Fund helps move Nova Scotia university and community college research to market.

If you’re a researcher engaged in life or physical sciences, engineering, computer science or other technology development with market potential, this opportunity is for you.

Up to $50,000 in funding available per project.

Funds can be used to assess market potential, develop go-to-market strategies, perform strategic planning, create/update business plans, assist with intellectual property protection strategies, finish proof of concept development, build prototypes and leverage of other funds.

Round two submissions for the 2009/2010 ESCF were due February 12, 2010.

ESCF Purpose and Objectives
The Early Stage Commercialization Fund (ESCF) assists and supports the academic community in the pursuit of entrepreneurial opportunities. The purpose of the ESCF is to provide support for projects demonstrating readiness to advance a technology that has achieved, or is close to achieving, a prototype/proof-of-concept stage and is approaching market readiness with a possibility of attracting industrial partners and/or investment. The prospect of generating a new revenue stream must also be apparent.

The ESCF is supported by the Department of Economic and Rural Development. The administration and management of the fund is subject to Innovacorp’s underlying approach to technology commercialization and its High Performance Incubation (HPi)™ business model.

Objectives:

• Promote and accelerate technology transfer activities in Nova Scotia’s post-secondary academic institutions
• Provide the opportunity to assess the commercial potential of intellectual property
• Narrow the gap that exists at the very beginning of the commercialization process, and enable projects to move closer to industry collaboration and/or technology spin-off

Eligibility
Nova Scotia university and community college faculty members engaged in scientific and technical activities are eligible to apply.

Click here for Early Stage Commercialization Fund Details & Forms.

To receive detailed information about and application forms for the Early Stage Commercialization Fund, contact us at 902.424.8670 ext. 1123 or escf@innovacorp.ca.

Past Projects
Click here for a list of past ESCF projects.

General Inquiries
Innovacorp
1400-1801 Hollis Street
Halifax, NS B3J 3M4
902.424.8670 ext. 1123
escf@innovacorp.ca

Innovacorp is committed to strengthening Nova Scotia’s post-secondary research commercialization capacity and entrepreneurial activities. It has been a strategic priority presented in our annual business plan for the past several years. The Early Stage Commercialization Fund is just one example of our recent efforts in this area. Click here to learn more about Innovacorp's involvement with our universities and colleges.